


we dream in the dark for the most part

by fangirl_squee



Category: The Thrilling Adventure Hour
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-08 01:31:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5478281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirl_squee/pseuds/fangirl_squee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frank missed out on proposing the first time around, but that doesn't mean he can't do it after they're married.</p>
            </blockquote>





	we dream in the dark for the most part

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the ‘You Must Remember This’ podcast, which always makes me want to write Doyles fic, but specially by Episode 65 (although, as @gloriousclio pointed out, Frank would never leave Sadie).
> 
> Title from Hamilton.
> 
> Beta'd by Sophie, who is wonderful and amazing.

Frank couldn’t sleep.

This was not unusual, he’d been an insomniac since childhood (nightmare clown monsters tend to have that effect).

Sadie had helped with that, just as she had improved every area of his life - in the case of his sleeping habits, either by tiring him out enough to sleep, or by the comfort and safety he felt just by having her beside him.

Some nights though, even that was not enough, He stared up at the ceiling, trying not to fidget. He didn’t want to wake Sadie, who was sound asleep and lying mostly on his right arm.

Frank looked across the room to the liquor cabinet, which was sadly out of reach from the bed. There was, of course, the nightstand liquor cabinet, but they had emptied it during their last nightcap.

Sadie sighed, shifting in her sleep, and Frank quickly slipped his arm out from under her. She frowned for a moment, then settled back into sleep. Frank breathed a (very quiet) sigh of relief.

Pouring himself a drink was a lot harder when he was trying to be quiet about it. It had been a long time since he’d had cause to be quiet about anything. Sadie tended to attract attention wherever they went, so working in silence wasn’t exactly her forte. It had taken some getting used to, but it was a nice change from hiding in the shadows, even if it _did_ mean he was a little out of practice at secret-liquor-pouring.

He sat down, and was about to pour himself a second drink when he saw that he already had. Frank frowned for a moment (after all, he’d only had one drink, he couldn’t possibly be seeing double _already_ ) before setting the full glass aside. Of course. He’d poured it for Sadie out of habit, and so it could wait for her until the morning.

Looking for a bottle-free area to set the glass, Frank noticed some papers sitting on the tray next to it. Perfect, those could just go in the bin where they wouldn’t waste valuable liquor real estate. Frank squinted at them in the darkness - Plaza Hotel stationery, nothing that would be missed.

Frank set Sadie’s glass in the newly-cleared spot. Even if she didn’t see it when she awoke, he’d be there to point her in the right direction. He smiled. Never in his life before would he have imagined such a level of certainty. With Sadie, he could see his whole life ahead - not the specifics, perhaps, but the feeling of days and nights full of Sadie (and liquor) were a fixed detail.

He moved the glass again, a little to the right so it would be more in her line of sight. Perhaps he should make its intended recipient more obvious, with flowers or a card, or - Frank’s gaze fell on the hotel stationary lying in the rubbish basket - a letter.

_Dearest Sadie_ , began Frank, _I found myself unable to sleep last night and so sought company with our mutual friend liquor. As always, a wonderful companion (although, not in your league, as companions go), but I found that I had poured a glass for you as well. I -_

“Frank?” said Sadie, her voice rough with sleep.

Frank paused, looking towards the bed. Sadie had flung a hand out on the empty expanse of the bed, seeking him, although her eyes were still closed.

“I’ll be there in a moment, love,” said Frank.

“Hmm,” said Sadie, drifting off again, “don’t be too long, darling.”

Frank took another drink, looking over what he’d written. His pen hesitated above the page for a moment before he continued.

_...but I found that I had poured a glass for you as well. I’m afraid it is muscle memory for me now, and I will simply have to pour us both drinks from now until eternity. In this, our fifth year of marriage, I humbly ask you to continue in this fashion for all time by marrying me. I do not have much of value besides my love for you and propensity, it seems, for pouring you drinks, but I hope this will be enough._

He hesitated again. During the short period in which they had been dating, Frank had never been sure how to sign the few letter they’d sent each other. Words had seemed like too much and not enough at the same time, especially on the stark white of the page.

_Your devoted husband and suitor,_

_Frank._

He folded the note so that it sat up in front of the glass, and slipped back in bed beside Sadie. She curled towards him, still asleep, and he kissed the top of her head. This time, falling asleep was easy.

Sadie blinked awake in the late-morning-or-possibly-afternoon light. Frank was still asleep. She was content to leave him be, for now, as she had a hazy memory of him getting up at some point in the night. It happened far less frequently than when they were first married, but still often enough that she had to call him back to bed.

She reached into the nightstand liquor cabinet before she remembered that they’d already emptied it. If only there was some kind of enchantment that would refill liquor cabinets without having to get out of bed to do it.

Sadie carefully got out of bed, trying to be as quiet as possible in order not to wake Frank. Being quiet wasn’t exactly something that came naturally to her - when people’s eyes were drawn to you in every room you had ever entered it wasn’t really a trait you sought to develop.

She was deciding between liquors (always a difficult task) when she noticed the full glass, next to a note. The note had her name written on it in Frank’s handwriting, the same hesitant start to the line of the ‘S’ as he’d done when they were dating which had always made her smile. They hadn’t exchanged many letters - Sadie preferred to talk on the phone, and their courtship had been cut short by her marriage proposal - but she had long since memorised the particulars of Frank’s handwriting.

Sadie read the letter, blindly reaching behind her for the chair and sitting down once she’d gotten a few sentences in it. She finished the letter, drank the drink Frank had so carefully laid out for her, and then read it again. And then a third time, just to be sure.

She pressed a hand to her mouth to stop a giggle from escaping. Being with Frank often felt like they were sharing some wonderful, scandalous secret, as though she was getting away with something she wasn’t supposed to do. Sadie scanned through the letter again, biting her lip at the word ‘eternity’. Well, it wasn’t their anniversary (at least, Sadie didn’t _think_ it was - what month _was_ it at present?), but this was a wonderful gift.

Sadie picked up the pen, turned the page over wrote a quick reply.

_My dearest, darlingest Frank,_

_My answer, as you might have guessed, is yes._

_Your Sadie._

She set the letter down near to Frank on the nightstand, and settled back into bed with him. Frank made a soft noise, moving his arm to accommodate her. Sadie reached for his hand, and Frank, still mostly asleep, clumsily tangled their fingers together. Frank kissed her hands, finally opening his eyes. He smiled.

“Good morning,” said Frank.

“Yes,” said Sadie, beaming, “it is.”

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi: mariusperkins.tumblr.com


End file.
